For many people, the first image that pops into your head when you think of a nurse is a woman in all white working in a hospital.
Nursing has come a long way since those days, and today nurses can be found in a variety of settings. Plus, it has become a popular career choice for men. In the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA), nurses play a vital role as the link between the mission of the Agency and the communities it serves.
Nurses are on the front lines in the county’s Live Well, San Diego! initiative to improve the health, safety and well-being of communities.
“Public health nursing is the practice of promoting health, preventing disease and increasing healthcare access for underserved and at-risk populations,” said Linda Lake, HHSA chief public health nurse. “County of San Diego nurses are critical, systemic thinkers who are advocates for the clients and patients they serve.”
HHSA nurses do a variety of jobs. They administer vaccinations; work with individuals and families in their homes; take care of patients at the Edgemoor Skilled Nursing Facility and County Psychiatric Hospital; test for diseases such as TB and STDs; investigate and help prevent the spread of communicable diseases; and educate residents and community groups on population-based health issues.
“This job has a lot of flexibility and allows me to put my creativity to work with clients and outreach to the community,” said Debal Acquaro, senior public health nurse for Health Link North County. “There is a lot of connecting with people.
“The challenge is to be able to reach the most people with the Live Well message.”
Acquaro works with school districts and both public and private organizations to improve the health and education of school-age children through school health and wellness programs.
Dianne Bourque works with first-time at-risk mothers through the County’s Nurse Family Partnership.
“It’s very rewarding and you get to know the families really well,” she said. “I tend to learn more from my clients than they do from me.
“They face so many adversities and difficult challenges.”
The program partners expectant moms with a public health nurse who works with them until the baby is two years old. They work with the family on everything from breast-feeding recommendations to family planning to helping them become financially stable by gaining employment.
Merlita Layug is a licensed vocational nurse who works in the North Central Public Health Center. She started with the County working in juvenile hall, but has spent the past 14 years doing immunizations.
“I love it,’ she said. “I just love the babies and serving my community.
“I get the opportunity to educate families on the importance of vaccinations and making them a priority,” said Merlita.
Teresa Corral, a public health nurse at HHSA’s East Region Public Health Center in El Cajon, speaks three languages so she can serve the diverse population in East County.
She grew up in Mexico speaking Spanish and took English as a Second Language classes when she moved to San Diego. And now with the increasing numbers of refugees from the Middle East, she took classes in Arabic to be able to communicate with the Chaldean population.
“I try to speak the words in their language to make them comfortable,” Corral said. “That helps them feel they are in good hands and we’re going to take care of them.
“I just love being a nurse and helping protect people against disease and keeping our community healthy. This is my community, too.”
